Save Vui Kong Campaign

Petition against penalty

By Zakir Hussain

The signatures will be pooled with 12,000 already collected by the Save Vui Kong Campaign in Malaysia, and submitted to President S R Nathan this month. -- ST PHOTO: NEO XIAOBIN

ABOUT 140 people gathered at Speakers' Corner in Hong Lim Park on Sunday to sign a petition to spare convicted Malaysian drug trafficker Yong Vui Kong from the gallows.

The signatures will be pooled with 12,000 already collected by the Save Vui Kong Campaign in Malaysia, and submitted to President S R Nathan this month.

Yong, 22, was convicted by the High Court on Nov 14, 2008, of trafficking in 47.27g of heroin. The death penalty is mandatory for trafficking 15g or more of the drug.

The Court of Appeal turned down his appeal in May, and he has till Aug 26 to file a plea for presidential clemency.

Sunday's event at the Speakers' Corner was organised by the Singapore Anti-Death Penalty Campaign, a loose group led by activists Seelan Palay, 26 and Rachel Zeng, 27; and by socio-political website The Online Citizen (TOC), which has called for an end to the mandatory death penalty.

TOC chief editor Andrew Loh said Yong had become repentant in prison; and argued that hanging him would not deter drug barons from finding others to do their work.

Source: Straits Times, Singapore